Mouseman, Robert Thompson, the wood carver extraordinaire.

Above are pictures of three different Robert Thompson cheese and bread boards.   Robert Thompson The Mouseman  -1876 - 1955, lived in Kilburn, North Yorkshire. He was nicknamed the Mouseman because he nearly always included the carving of a mouse on his furniture etc. He started using mice as his signature when, in 1919  another worker mentioned that he and Robert were 'as poor as Church mice'. His mice have important characteristics: No front legs, always whiskers, and a long tail. The wood Robert Thompson  used was a rare type of Yorkshire oak, a wood that is strong  and sympathetic and turns a wonderful golden colour when waxed.  His workshop is run now by his descendants,  it is located next to the Parish Church where the pews fittings and other furniture were made by The Mouseman  and adorned with his  mice. There is a Mouseman Visitor Centre.